He's Blue
by Jupiter Queen
Summary: The hunt for a hero could end Caitlin's night in disaster. (One-shot.) (AU)
_**Warning**_ _: Profanity and mild violence._

 _ **A/N**_ _: Your girl just wrote a superhero AU… kind of… maybe… It's definitely an AU, but it flirts with a couple different concepts. It was definitely inspired by The Flash, though. What a show._

* * *

"Caitlin, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?"

"But, Nikki, I really need your help!" Caitlin pleaded. Why was her best friend being so stubborn?

Breaking her focus from the computer screen, Nikki spun around in her chair and faced Caitlin. "This whole situation is so farfetched."

"No, it isn't."

She crossed her arms. "So, suspecting that a superhero attends our school and wanting to hunt him down as a potential boyfriend sounds like some sane shit to you?"

"Well, not when you say it like that…" She looked away, hurt. She knew Nikki had heard the stories on the local news recently, tales of the "Blue Boy" zipping across Toronto while saving girls, guys, and everyone in between from danger. A boy like that captured her imagination. And to hear the rumors surface of the Blue Boy attending Rockwood High captured her heart. She _had_ to see him with her own eyes. "For the record, I don't want to date him. I just want to meet him—maybe even design him a costume—but I guess that's too much to ask."

Nikki sighed in defeat. "Caitlin, I love you, but—if you _do_ convince me—how in the hell are we going to find him? He runs at the speed of light, maybe even faster than that."

"I don't know." she admitted, frowning. She hadn't come up with a concrete plan yet, being so lost in her daydreams and her doodling on notebooks that she was unable to do so. "But I'm sure we'll think of something."

Nikki stared at her.

"If you do this, it would be _great_ exposure for your blog! You're the most talented writer that I know, and I _promise_ this will do wonders for you!" Caitlin said, grinning before driving her point home. "Plus, Jonesy will be _all over you_ once he finds out you met a superhero."

She snorted. "That boy is already all over me as is. Don't give him any more reasons."

Caitlin smiled. "So you'll do it?"

Nikki rolled her eyes, but half-smiled afterwards. "Yes, Caitlin, I'll help you find this superhero lover-boy of yours, but only because of what it can do for my writing." (And because it would make Caitlin and Jonesy happy.)

"Yay! You're the best friend ever!" Caitlin squealed as she ambushed Nikki with a hug.

"Can you love me a little less tightly, please?" Nikki asked, struggling to breathe; Caitlin was the strongest size-zero in the universe. ( _She_ could be a superhero if she wanted to be one.)

"Sorry," she said, letting go.

"It's fine, Barbie. So, I guess we'll talk about the specifics of catching that Blue Boy tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Great. Now go on and death-hug somebody else," she commanded.

"See you later, Nikki," Caitlin said as she exited the school's computer lab, leaving Nikki to her work.

Though it took a lot of effort, she was grateful to get Nikki on board. Caitlin wasn't lying when she said Nikki was the best writer around; she had written for their school's newspaper since freshman year, with her articles always the subject of conversation, before breaking out on her own with her blog this year. Nikki Wong was forging a reputation for herself, and Caitlin wanted to do all that she could to help.

It also helped that Caitlin was enamoured with this boy in blue. Every time she saw cellphone footage of him dashing through the city streets, thwarting danger before it could place more civilians in harm's way, she fell in love.

Maybe she was a hopeless romantic, but she couldn't help falling for this hero. After hearing Jen Masterson, the captain of the varsity soccer team (and Jonesy's stepsister), talk about how the blue boy saved her from being mugged after practice, Caitlin needed to meet him. (And she wasn't the only one fascinated with him. These boys she recognized from the audiovisual club, Wyatt and Darth—the only ones who knew how to work the sound system at school assemblies—put together a fan video for the hero in blue.)

Caitlin swooned, putting her feelings before her plan. _I can't wait to meet him_.

The only thing she met seconds later was a head-on collision.

She fell to the floor, barely registering who she bumped into. This anonymous person, upon recovering, extended their hand and offered to help her up. She took their hand and stood upright again, brushing off her teal skirt before looking her helper in the eye.

"I'm so sorry," she said before gazing at the boy in front of her.

"It's no big deal, brah. Accidents happen," he replied. "You're Caitlin, right?"

She blushed and nodded. "And you're Jude from physics. I have to admit: I didn't recognize you because you weren't taking a nap."

Jude chuckled. "Yeah, that class kinda bores me to sleep."

She couldn't help giggling. "It has that effect on me, too."

"Glad to know I'm not the only one." He briefly checked the time on his phone. "Looks like I've gotta go, but we should definitely hang out sometime, y'know?"

Her heart fluttered just as she batted her lashes at him. "Sure. That'd be _great_."

"Radical." He briefly placed his hand on his shoulder as he said, "Catch ya later, Caitlin."

After she said goodbye, she gazed at him as he hopped on his skateboard and took off.

Even minutes after he left, the warmth of his hand lingered on her shoulder. His touch, albeit brief, was electrifying. She sighed and swooned on her way home that night.

* * *

"Do you know who Jude is?" Caitlin asked, lying down on her very pink bed as she talked on her cellphone.

"The real question is: Which one?" Nikki replied. "Jude Jones, Jude Thompson, or Jude Lizowski?"

"Jude Lizowski, I think. He's the one that rides skateboards, right?"

"That's the one—the stoned skater-boy himself. You know, he gave me a brownie at Jonesy's party last year."

Caitlin grinned. "He's so dreamy."

"Oh, I know that voice. You're into him, aren't you?"

"A little bit… or a lot. I don't know." Her cheeks flushed. "He told me that we should hang out sometime."

"Looks like someone's head over heels for another guy. At least he's more easily accessible than our friendly neighborhood Blue Boy."

"Who I'm still not giving up on, by the way."

Nikki snorted. "I figured as much, which is why I did some research on him."

"Did you find anything?"

"I found way more than I expected, that's for sure. Looks like there are three places where people often see him—around the Galleria Mall, that warehouse people use for raves, and the Adrenaline Skate and Bike Park."

Caitlin softly gasped. _Jude's a skater… No, but it can't be him._ "How about we try the skate park tomorrow? If we don't find him there, maybe we can try the other locations on Saturday."

"Sounds good to me. You didn't hesitate on that skate park, though. Hoping you'll see Jude tomorrow?"

"Hopefully. Maybe it can be some sort of package deal—I can see Jude _and_ get to see the blue boy in person." _Especially if they're the same person_.

"After a hero with super speed in blue spandex pops up, almost anything can happen."

"That's true."

Speaking of anything happening, Caitlin heard Nikki doing something unheard of. "Jonesy, _stop_ ,"— _giggle_ —"I told you I'd be with you once I get off the phone."

"Well, I wanna be with you now," Caitlin heard Jonesy say.

Caitlin smiled like mad. "Sounds like someone's got company."

"That's because I may or may not be studying with my boyfriend tonight." Nikki laughed abruptly. " _Jonesy_!"

"Sure, you're _studying_ ," Caitlin said with a giggle. "Make sure you apply extra lip gloss before you 'hit the books.'"

"Will do," Nikki said. "See you tomorrow, Barbie."

"See ya! And have fun!"

* * *

"Ready?" Nikki asked.

"As ready as you are," Caitlin replied.

Upon taking their places near the skate park, they had decided they were going to stage a distress call in order to attract the blue boy's attention.

With a penny board she had bought earlier, Caitlin was prepared to feign an injury. She had used makeup to create bruises on her knees and shins, so when she "fell" from her board, the blue hero himself would be convinced she was in danger and come to her aid. She held out hope that the plan stood a chance.

Nikki, on the other hand, marred the plan with pessimism. She muttered, "Why do I have a feeling that this is not going to work?"

"Come on, Nikki," Caitlin said as she placed the penny board upside down beside her. "We have to at least _try_."

"I suppose you're right," she admitted. "Plus, at least you have a plan. Better than yesterday's 'we'll think of something,' that's for sure."

"See, now you're on the bright side of things."

"Ouch, the light's burning my skin," Nikki deadpanned. "Maybe I'm better equipped for the darkness."

Caitlin giggled at her friend before taking a deep breath. The pavement below disgusted her, since it was frequently occupied by gross teenage boys, but she had to get over herself if she wanted to do this. She slowly fell to the ground and recreated a position that said, " _I just wiped out on my board."_

Nikki, knowing this was her cue, shouted, "Oh my God! Someone help my friend! I think she's injured!" (Her acting didn't even convince herself.) She looked around again. The only people who paid attention were giving her sideways looks. "I said, ' _Help_! My friend is injured!'" Her patience had a short lifespan. "Caitlin, I don't think this shit's working."

"Just give it more time." She wanted to believe the blue boy would at least stop by, if not come to her aid, so she held on for a few more minutes.

But a few minutes turned into ten, and there was no sight of him.

"You know, someone stopped and asked me if you were dead," Nikki said as she approached Caitlin, helping her off the ground. "I said that you were doing a performance art piece."

Her smile was bittersweet, and she looked to the ground.

"Don't beat yourself up, Barbie. We have two other opportunities to catch this blue boy, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right… I just can't help feeling stupid behind tonight, though."

"Don't. We'll go back to the drawing board and see what can be done tomorrow."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound like an optimist," Caitlin noted with a giggle.

"Nope. Just being a realist."

"Yo, did you guys meet him yet?" a quickly approaching voice asked.

Caitlin turned around and found Jonesy running towards them. Turning towards Nikki, she asked, "You invited Jonesy?"

She sighed. "He kept prying about our plans and wanted in."

"Admit it: I wore you down," Jonesy said with a smirk.

"I'll stick a rusty needle in my eye before that happens."

Whispering to Caitlin, he said, "You know I wore her down… But, seriously though, did you guys meet the blue dude yet?"

Caitlin frowned. "No, not tonight. That's the problem. We might have to go to the mall or the warehouse district tomorrow to get his attention."

"Count me in. I'm down for either place."

"If you really want to be be of assistance, I suggest you don't show up late," Nikki replied, crossing her arms.

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault my train was delayed," he retorted.

"Could have caught an earlier one."

"Well, I'm here now."

"Evidently."

To ease the tension, Caitlin suggested, "How about we sit over there and talk about tomorrow night?" She pointed towards the benches within the skate park itself.

"Sure," Nikki said.

"Fine with me," Jonesy said, throwing his arm over Nikki's shoulders as they walked there.

Upon sitting down, Caitlin placed her penny board on the ground and put her foot on it, rolling it back and forth as she talked with Jonesy and Nikki.

"If we go to the Galleria tomorrow, I can buy you that choker you were looking at last time," Jonesy told Nikki.

"You don't have to do that for me, Jonesy—especially because I think you're broke at the moment," she replied with a snort.

"Well, our anniversary is coming up, so I think I have to do it. And I _want_ to." He grinned at her. "And, for the record, I'm not broke. I just got paid."

"Let me guess. It's your final paycheck?"

He hung his head low. "Yeah. I got fired."

"Aw, poor thing," Nikki mocked, patting her boyfriend on the back.

Though she found their dynamic interesting and ever-changing, Caitlin loved their strange love. She, being the hopeless romantic she'd been since birth, wanted a love of her own for once. She was tired of waiting for love to chase after her instead of her chasing after it. Though she couldn't tell anymore whether the boy in blue waited for danger to strike or struck before danger could happen, she knew she would be more active when it came to her own happiness. She would start by asking Jude out instead of waiting to be asked. She would see to it and make the first (official) move.

As she and the couple talked, she grew more confident in her side plan to ask Jude out, though she lost hope in him being the blue boy. The skate park was merely a coincidence, it seemed. Neither of them were here tonight, anyway. She couldn't spot Jude or his messy beanie-covered blonde hair anywhere, forcing her to wait until Monday to ask him on a date.

She kicked her penny board a little too hard, with it rolling away from her and into the concrete pool.

"Oops," she said as it fell in. It managed to knock one of the boys over, sending him falling to the concrete.

Jonesy laughed at the guy's fall, doubling over while Nikki simply rolled her eyes.

When he got up, however, he roared, "Which one of you punkasses tripped me up?"

Caitlin fell deathly silent, though those around her didn't seem to care much.

A gunshot to the sky silenced everyone.

"Now that I have your attention," the guy exclaimed, "which one of you assholes tripped me up?"

"Oh, shit," Caitlin heard Jonesy mutter, with Nikki uttering something similar.

Caitlin's heart pounded so hard that she swore it could be heard throughout the park.

No one dared to speak.

"Well, since no one wants to 'fess up, I guess I'll have to shoot everyone until someone does."

Caitlin didn't have to look around to sense the fear in the vicinity.

The guy with the gun scanned the area, searching for his first target.

Caitlin breathed deeply, keeping herself from hyperventilating.

The guy walked near her, and she froze as he pressed his gun against Jonesy's forehead.

 _Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God_ , she thought.

"Now," he said, "who wants to fess up and save this chump's life?"

She could hear Jonesy whimpering.

"Shut up," he commanded.

Jonesy stopped.

Caitlin began panicking, knowing what she had to do. She couldn't let Jonesy take the bullet. She _wouldn't_. Though she didn't know what would happen when she spoke up, she was ready—as ready as she could be.

"I did it," she whispered.

The guy removed the gun from Jonesy's forehead and, with a smirk, walked towards Caitlin.

"What was that, sweetheart?"

"I did it. I kicked the board, but it was a complete accid—"

He rammed the gun against her forehead. Its metal was bone-chilling.

"Glad you finally decided to speak. I see you decided to save your friend over there. Too bad he can't save you."

"Please don't kill me. I never meant to harm you or anyone," she said, barely above a whisper. She briefly recalled how accidents didn't matter to Jude. But for this guy—this _villain_ —this accident was a matter of life and death.

"You seem like a nice girl. But me? Not so much." His grin was wicked and twisted. "Bye, sweetie."

His finger seemed to grip the trigger in slow motion.

Caitlin's short life flashed before her eyes as she resigned herself to her fate.

When she expected the gun to send a bullet to her brain, she didn't feel anything at all.

 _Am I dead?_ she asked herself. She opened her eyes to find the guy with the gun gone. She frantically placed a palm against her forehead. She didn't feel a bullet, but she still felt the chill of where the barrel had been.

She freaked out as she looked around the skate park. Jonesy and Nikki were latching onto each other as skaters were trying to calm each other down, some of them having panic and anxiety attacks.

Caitlin found herself in a confused state until she saw a flash of blue light.

Now she was in a state of disbelief, thinking, _It's him. It's really_ him.

The blue boy zoomed to the center of the concrete pool and, in a husky voice, urged, "Someone call the police."

As soon as Caitlin saw someone dial the authorities on their cellphone, she found herself swept up in a whirlwind of speed.

Hyperventilating, she realized she was atop a nearby building. She peeped over the edge—noticing the police cars swarming around the area—and said, "Oh my God! Oh my God!"

A calm yet deep voice spoke to her. "Relax."

She quickly spun around and faced the boy in blue himself. Her mind couldn't make sense of words as she studied him. He wore black jeans, a blue hoodie which helped cover his hair, and a black mask that only revealed his piercing blue eyes. The trail of light he left behind wasn't just blue. _He_ was blue. His essence was blue. After her observations, she finally found the words to say. "You… You saved my life."

"It's kinda my job now." He gazed at her. "Plus, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I let someone die. Especially someone as pretty as you."

She blushed as he walked towards her. "I don't have to repay you or anything for saving me though, right?"

He shook his head. "I don't want anything in return."

"Okay… Well, is it fine if I ask you for a favor?"

"What's up?"

"I have a friend down there who really wanted to interview you—you know—for her blog." Before he could say anything, she added, "And you don't have to reveal your identity or _anything_. We just wanted to spread the word about someone looking out for us around here."

He chuckled (and it seemed familiar to her). "Sure, I'll do it."

"Okay,"—she smiled—"cool."

"Do you want me to bring your friend up here now?"

"Sure, that'd be great!"

"'Kay, give me a second."

And, in a literal second, Jonesy and Nikki joined Caitlin on the rooftop.

"Holy shit," Jonesy cursed as he caught his breath. This was too much for him to comprehend.

"You're actually real," Nikki said, her eyes deceiving her as she looked upon the blue boy. "Shit, you're real."

The blue boy laughed at their enchantment. "I am, aren't I?"

Nikki paused, trying to gather her words.

"Dude, you saved our asses back there!" Jonesy exclaimed, finding his words instantly.

"It's what I do now," he said with a grin before turning to Nikki. "So, your really pretty friend over there said you wanted to ask me some questions."

"Oh, yeah. Right," Nikki said, still caught up in this moment. She grabbed her phone, ready to record the conversation. "I won't try to ask anything too invasive, but bear with me. So… what caused you to be involved in the world of heroics?"

Once she asked the first question, the rest was history. The interview went smoothly, something Caitlin was happy about. At least something went right tonight.

Jonesy, awestruck and having formed coherent sentences, went over to talk to the boy in blue, just as Caitlin and Nikki conversed.

"Got everything you needed for your interview?" Caitlin asked.

"Yep," Nikki said. "I've got to say, it surprised me that he showed up. Shit, I'm _glad_ he showed up or tonight could have gone all the way to hell."

Caitlin frowned as she noticed the way Nikki glanced at Jonesy. "That reminds me—Nikki, I am so sorry about tonight."

"Caitlin, it's fine. _We're_ fine. Crazy shit happened, but we're still alive."

"Yeah, but that's the thing—we could have died, and I can't let go of that."

Nikki placed her hands on both of Caitlin's shoulders. "We're alive, we didn't die, and we're here to tell the tale. I'm not holding that against you, Barbie."

Caitlin exhaled deeply and tried to let it go. "Okay… Thank you, Nikki."

"Anytime, Barbie."

"By the way, did you ever find out what happened to the guy with the gun?"

"Let's just say caution tape makes for some great impromptu handcuffs," she said with a snicker.

"Nice. That's a relief."

Just as their own conversation died down, Jonesy and the boy in blue strolled towards them.

"Have a nice chat, boys?" Nikki asked with an eyebrow cocked.

"Yep," her boyfriend replied. "I learned everything I wanted to know about being in the hero biz."

"And…?"

"And now I'm sure as hell that I don't have the guts to do it."

Nikki laughed. "Didn't know you were considering it in the first place, but I'm glad to know you'll stick to getting fired from regular jobs."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

Through her smile, Caitlin approached the blue boy and said, "Thank you so much for tonight. I don't know if I'll be able to _stop_ thanking you."

"Well, I guess I won't stop saying, 'No problem,' then," he replied. "So, you guys want me to take you guys back down below?"

The three friends nodded.

"Alright—down we go."

The boy proceeded to individually run everyone back to ground level before facing them for the final time tonight.

"Hope you guys stay safe out here," he said before refocusing his attention to Caitlin. "Especially _you_."

Before she could say anything, he left her with a kiss on the cheek and a caress on her shoulder. With a quickly fading trail of blue lightning, he was gone.

"Looks like someone might actually have a chance with a superhero," Nikki teased.

Caitlin barely heard her. She found herself trapped in some sort of awe, even as she headed onto the subway train with Nikki and Jonesy. Even as she got ready for bed that night.

She was swept in a whirlwind of revelation, especially from the way the blue boy touched her shoulder. It was a familiar kind of electrifying.

She knew her intuition was valid.

Pacing around her room, she knew what she had to do. She had to confess to someone the discovery she made tonight. She grabbed her cellphone from her nightstand and dialed Nikki's number as fast as she could.

The dial tone sounded a few times before she picked up.

"What's up, Barbie?"

"I think I figured out who that blue hero is," she said, her voice urgent.

Though Caitlin couldn't see her, she heard the raised eyebrow in Nikki's tone. "Really? Who do you think it is?"

"Nikki—it's _Jude_."


End file.
